GT5 Fans - What's the Appeal??

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DEATHSARTHE

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THE_LAST_FAOLIU
For nearly a decade and a half, GT's fanbase remained scattered throughout the internet and throughout the world. Now, in GT5, we finally come together amongst common ground as we're instantly connected through our Playstations into the far reaches of our atmosphere where communication satellites wizz through space at thousands of miles per hour, back down to earth and straight into Sony's network of servers and stuff.

Is this how our online gaming is achieved?? I don't know.

Anyway, this is what this thread is about. Now that we're able to mingle amongst each other online, I've come to a brick wall of a question... what the hell is so appealing about Gran Turismo that it attracts the attention of so many people that are ill-informed, uneducated, and mislead about cars and automobiles?? Why is it that Gran Turismo is the highest selling PS3 game of all time when it seems a good slice of the GT fanbase pie chart probably knows more about Dancing with the Stars and Jersey Shore than driving, cars, and automobiles??

Now the gaming market has exploded and in its wake it has left a trail of blockbuster games like Midnight Club: Los Angeles, Test Drive Unlimited, Burnout: 2, and the new Need For Speed as well as previous NFS: Underground games. There is a huge plethora of video games backed by millions of American dollars and corperate offices with huge advertising firms in their pockets - and yet a single Japanese man, Mr. Kaz, and his team, PD, somehow defeats them all in their little office across the entire world with a much more simple game...

Now there isn't much competition in the "Real Driving Simulator" genre, but I'm sure GT5 is catagorized amongst arcade racing games and free roaming sandbox night racing games all the same - it really is all the same to the average gamer. So then...we have games with super high frame rate action, super gigantic smokey powerslides that magically fill up super potent super nitrous bottles, super crash scenes that look lifted straight out of a terrible hollywood disaster movie, and super sense of speed as the POV camera rattles and shakes with every crack on the city street as you're blasting through a downtown metroplis at 180mph all perfectly accented with a blurring affect that mimicks tunnel vision.

I mean a lot of GT5's competition does use fully lisenced, real world supercars and if not then they use really good replicas of them. Physics are a bit arcadey across the board of opposition, but nothing we couldn't get used to. Gran Turismo used to always have the edge in graphics and for many years that was a great selling point - but now the competition is catching up, if not already surpassing GT. Of course a lot of the newer games use more mainstream music from big rap artists and rockstars, and some games also include classical music, techno, and jazz as well. And one of the biggest pet peeves of many GT fans is the car selection - particularly the premium variety and many other games faithfully render what PD could not. With all this - these other games also have more entertaining modifications, some just as deep in tuning - some even deeper.

And then we have a game that's been watered down to attempt to be as realistic as possible - but really in retrospect, it's dull. As much as I love Gran Turismo 5 and the entire GT series, the game is rather dull - but somehow it wins over the opposition dominately!

But is there a deeper answer to all this madness? I don't know I have to sleep now.
 
I think it is the sense of 'elitism' that playing GT games gives to some people.

I remember when GT1 came out, NFS titles were the premier racers that everyone played and enjoyed,
while GT1 was the upstart game that only the serious car buffs enjoyed.

This was before the time of Fast & Furious movies came about,
and so (at least in my neck of the woods) no one had ever heard of half of the cars in GT1, or even getting the option to tune them,
whereas the NFS titles were focusing on widely popular super cars & tuning was something you did to the radio.

The biggest difference with the early GT games vs. other racing games,
was that anyone could mash the X button, and win in most other racing games,
but to do it in GT, you had to use the brake as well.

I think that's what started the sense of elitism, and today it has grown into the many varieties we have such as those who only use wheels,
those who think driving aids are a sin, those who only race premium models, those who only race in cockpit view, etc...

GT games give some players an air of superiority over those who just want to play a racing game for fun.
 
Nice rant.

DEATHSARTHE
what the hell is so appealing about Gran Turismo that it attracts the attention of so many people that are ill-informed, uneducated, and mislead about cars and automobiles?? Why is it that Gran Turismo is the highest selling PS3 game of all time when it seems a good slice of the GT fanbase pie chart probably knows more about Dancing with the Stars and Jersey Shore than driving, cars, and automobiles??
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To answer your question, it's a game.
In fact.... it's a great game. If you race cars for a living does that make you more qualified to play a racing video game? No.
A three year old can play it and enjoy it.
If I like Assassins Creed is it a requirement that I travel back in time and wage war against the knights templar to justify that my knowledge of the games subject material warrants confirmation from a stranger that i'm qualified to play the game?
Of course not.
It sounds like you're just frustrated at the online experience in GT5.
You're not alone there. If you do a search there are many threads on the subject that offer a lot of good solutions to help improve your online racing experience. Join a racing league or something.
👍
 
ShaneG
I think it is the sense of 'elitism' that playing GT games gives to some people.
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Absolutely no kidding.

The GT community would be a better place without those pretentious and elitist wannabe autocrats who constantly instruct us as to what GT "is about" and how we should be playing the game.
 
Its the normal everyday cars, the ones that you or your parents own, the ones you see on the street, the ones people in the real world can afford to own that does it I think.

I 'll never forget the 1st time I saw GT (1), it was on display, running in HMV, it was a Mazda Demio and it was just so refreshing to have cars I can relate to, the graphics, physics and the licence tests where you felt you were becoming a better driver in real life all go to make it Special and different.

Long Live GT!
 
@ShaneG - Very well said bro:tup:

To the OP: Simple, people like good games, in which they can have fun. If you don't want to meet those "kind" of people that don't race with wheels and don't care about what all those suspension stuff do you: 1 - Play offline; 2 - Private looby.
 
Since GT came out it has been a huge seller because it is a great game, it is as simple as that, it looks fantastic, it allows people to drive their car as well as more exotic things and that for me is one of the big appeals.

Regarding the elitism, the people who frequent sites like GTP are a tiny percentage of those that play GT5, I think the elitism is being over estimated here.
 
ShaneG and deep_sky have said all that needs to be said, really.
 
The games in the GT series appeal to a wide range of people, I guess that's one of the main reasons that makes it so successful. A sim racer would buy it as well as an arcade racer, & a gamer, all 3 would get something out of it, whereas iRacing would probably only be bought by one of the aforementioned types.

GT is like a virtual automotive buffet, there's something for everyone!


:D
 
GT is more than just a game. Its an experience, you get to drive cars that are slow then get to go to supercars. An amazing thing about GT- is that you can enjoy it in any way you wish. Its not a game- its simulation at its highest.
 
I understand your rant.
I have a feeling that at least 80% of the GT5 community fully tunes every car and never drives without racing softs. I know that many people don't know the difference between Camaro LM (or any other GTS/GT1 car), Peugeot 908 and Mazda 787B...to them it's all "Le Mans race car".
Many people play GT5 without any knowledge of cars and how they work.
The question is why they play GT5 then...this is the answer:

ShaneG
GT games give some players an air of superiority over those who just want to play a racing game for fun.
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To put it short - GT5 went commercial (not that it's a bad thing).
 
darren200cook
GT is more than just a game. Its an experience, you get to drive cars that are slow then get to go to supercars. An amazing thing about GT- is that you can enjoy it in any way you wish. Its not a game- its simulation at its highest.
Click to expand...

The highlighted bit is not nearly it. Every single racing game out there, be it Wipeout, NfS, WRC, even going back to San Francisco Rush starts you off with slow cars/machines, and you gradually move up to the fast stuff. Gran Turismo is the only one where I deliberately decide to go back once I have had a go in the big machines (Group C, F1 and so on). I decide to take out my beloved CSL, or the Clio or the Golf. Because I have a reason to do it, as I prefer the experience.
In the other games there is just no reason to go back. Variety makes it that great.

PS: that "GT is/is not a simulation"-argument has been talked to death, please leave it guys.
 
I personally think it's because there's a good chance people can drive their own car in Gran Turismo. People might also appreciate that Gran Turismo doesn't camouflage itself with all the exaggerated fluff we see in games such as Need For Speed. Not everyone falls for that including myself.

DEATHSARTHE
Now the gaming market has exploded and in its wake it has left a trail of blockbuster games like Midnight Club: Los Angeles, Test Drive Unlimited, Burnout: 2, and the new Need For Speed as well as previous NFS: Underground games. There is a huge plethora of video games backed by millions of American dollars and corperate offices with huge advertising firms in their pockets - and yet a single Japanese man, Mr. Kaz, and his team, PD, somehow defeats them all in their little office across the entire world with a much more simple game...
Click to expand...

A single man and his team? PD is backed by Sony and I think they have spent equal amounts of advertising money on Gran Turismo, if not more.
 
I think that the main reason is about the feeling.
Its about the light of a Sunday morning driving your car quietly and fast, so fast that everything becomes slow.

Now, moving on to the online experience its difficult. I mean, I go online to have a good time. To empathize with people who feel the same respect and emotion of running fairly. And the joy that entails.

That's my point of view.

A big hug.

Eager Snake.
 
For me it's what I think GT has been about since the beginning...the ability to drive and race normal, everyday cars in a game. So many games are about balls-to-the-wall pure-racing machines; GT gives you something different. The first two games barely featured any dedicated racing cars...ever since they've made up a bigger portion of the car list, and though I'm in the minority I think this is the wrong direction for the series.

Tack on almost-always cutting edge graphics and physics, and what's there not to like?

Yes, there could be more of everything...but until they manage to make a GT with every car and every course that's ever existed, you can't please everyone.
 
Mike240SX
For me it's what I think GT has been about since the beginning...the ability to drive and race normal, everyday cars in a game. So many games are about balls-to-the-wall pure-racing machines; GT gives you something different. The first two games barely featured any dedicated racing cars...ever since they've made up a bigger portion of the car list, and though I'm in the minority I think this is the wrong direction for the series.

Tack on almost-always cutting edge graphics and physics, and what's there not to like?

Yes, there could be more of everything...but until they manage to make a GT with every car and every course that's ever existed, you can't please everyone.
Click to expand...

Spot on!
 
Whatever the reason, it'd be easy to get rid of the unwanted NFS-crowd. Just make the tuning harder than slapping on "stage 3 whatever modifications". What happened to proper car tuning? Just combine Street Legal Racing into GT and you'd have a proper simulator which would keep the unwanted people away.
 
ShaneG
GT games give some players an air of superiority over those who just want to play a racing game for fun.
Click to expand...




Eezee
Whatever the reason, it'd be easy to get rid of the unwanted NFS-crowd. Just make the tuning harder than slapping on "stage 3 whatever modifications". What happened to proper car tuning? Just combine Street Legal Racing into GT and you'd have a proper simulator which would keep the unwanted people away.
Click to expand...



I rest my case. :rolleyes::banghead:
 
Eezee
Whatever the reason, it'd be easy to get rid of the unwanted NFS-crowd. Just make the tuning harder than slapping on "stage 3 whatever modifications". What happened to proper car tuning? Just combine Street Legal Racing into GT and you'd have a proper simulator which would keep the unwanted people away.
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Stop being stereotypical.
 
Eezee
Whatever the reason, it'd be easy to get rid of the unwanted NFS-crowd.
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Dear oh dear oh dear. Such idiocy.

As if shutting out a certain crowd is going to help GT.
 
The truly ironic part is the game that we should apparently be looking down our noses at the absolute most based on his logic (Underground 2) had the most extensive car tuning of any game I've ever seen, far and away more comprehensive than anything the GT series has ever implemented.
 
I love GT as well as NFS, so I'm unwanted? Oh:(...:p
 
I think it is silly to see any people as unwanted. In fact the appeal of GT is that it was open to both the more serious and arcade minded racer, that's why it sells so well.

Yes there are more hardcore sims and more extreme arcade racers but GT seems to sell to both types.
 
First post here , HI :)

There is an appeal to the GT series for me , its make believe for grown ups . I really enjoy being able to do what I cannot do in my real life . Collect cars , fix them up to my liking , and drive them . That is the only reason I play these GT titles .

Everyone have a great day . I love reading this forum :)
 
Well sometimes I don't want to build "street cred" and instead just want to drive on a proper racetrack with rules rather than closed down streets made into circuits in a city. I always felt like the street oriented games come off as social multiplayer games instead of racing. Gran Turismo doesn't have intricate plot lines and characters to distract the player from simply driving cars on a racetrack, that's why it attracts me most as a game.

Also Gran Turismo has a slight learning curve, which makes it interesting.
 
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